Bags packed and off we go

Here we go again – the Haggett family are off to Mexico! This will be our fourth visit and, like the previous two, we’re staying for months not weeks.

Why Mexico? We haven’t long left Malaysia after living there for 6 years. It didn’t take long in the UK to realise that warmer weather beckoned. But that’s only part of the story.

After over 30 years of living overseas, the UK has changed – and so have we. There are many glorious aspects of life in the UK. But there are also things we miss from our life overseas. And the easiest factor to blame is the weather, so I’ll stick with that.

During the past 3 decades, we’ve lived as ex-pats in Singapore, Malaysia (twice), South Africa, with short stays in other places and, of course, the UK.

This time, we faced a new challenge  – our dog, Kona. We brought her with us from Malaysia and we’ll drag her around the world as we go. You can read of the ‘fun’ we encountered trying to ship her to Mexico in a future blog.

Why Mexico?

In answer to the question: Why Mexico? To me, the obvious answer is – why not?

Mexico is a huge country, with lovely people and an amazing geographical variety. We thought South Africa had a lot to offer in the way of deserts, mountains, canyons, savannah, forest, beach, etc., but Mexico can add volcanoes, snowy peaks, and a lot more.

The cost of living is quoted as being less than half that of the UK, making it even cheaper than Malaysia.

There is an abundance of wildlife – large and small, cute and scary. There is something special about eating breakfast on the patio on a sunny but cool morning near a flowering bush and watching beautiful butterflies flitting among the blossoms and metallic green hummingbirds hovering and darting about.

And, in most places, Mexico has so much to see and do, with festivals, markets, ancient ruins, shopping complexes and cenotes/waterfalls/beaches/scenery to explore. And, of course, the Pueblos Magicos (magical towns)! You’ll soon find blogs and photos here of the wonderful places we visited.

Join us on our journey

On this journey, we’re staying in Airbnbs (rather than hotels or rented accommodation), so we’re typically based in a local housing estate. We’re buying our food from the local stores (well, supermarkets). A short while ago, this was called ‘slow travel’.

I’ve always wondered when ‘slow travel’ becomes no travel. Is that when you spend more than 6 months in one place?

There’s no doubt that by living in a country for several months, you get a better feel for the people, their customs and the way of life than you do on a two week holiday. And that’s what we’re hoping to do during our visit.

So join us on our trip. We hope you’ll enjoy Mexico through our eyes. And perhaps be encouraged to enjoy a ‘slow travel’ around this amazing country!